Windows 98 / ME: Windows ME setup and optimization

So, let's remember which versions of Windows were from the 95th: Windows 95, Windows 95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition). There were intermediate versions of type 95 OSR1, OSR2.5, but they were not key and were not used much. And today you can imagine the last of the Mohicans on the core of Windows 9x - this is the new operating system Windows Me (Millenium Edition).

The main difference between WinMe and its predecessors is the complete absence of pure DOS, i.e. You can boot only in Windows Me and nothing else. The remaining main differences are as follows:

• More clear and "licked" interface.
• Internet Explorer 5.5.
• Windows Media Player 7.
• Windows Movie Maker.
• A new system for system recovery and tracking of "health" of system files.
• A new help system for WinMe - even more convenient for beginners.

So smoothly we go on to optimize and configure WinMe.

Download Windows Me.

It's no secret that the faster the operating system boots, the more pleasant it is about the first impression. So in Windows Me, Microsoft has taken many steps to speed up the initial download. This is the location of the system files in the "fastest place" on the hard drive, and the creation of image blocks of drivers and services that are loaded at the beginning of the OS boot. Indeed, WinMe is loaded in some cases even faster than its predecessor. Although the requirements for RAM in WinMe are somewhat larger than those of Win98SE, and are approaching the requirements for Windows 2000. Therefore, on a small amount of RAM (less than 64 MB) in WinMe you will get much more brakes. Before installing Windows Me, it is advised to stock up with such a PC configuration (or better): Intel Celeron 300+ MHz / 64+ Mb / 6+ Gb HDD / Direct3D-compatible accelerator from 4 MB and preferably on an AGP bus. For the end of the summer of 2000 it's good to have such a PC: Intel Celeron-600 (@ 850) / 128 Mb / 20 Gb HDD 7200rpm / NVidia GeForce256 32 Mb or Riva TnT2 32Mb.

But "hardware", remains "iron", and "soft" can always be configured for better performance. In order for WinMe to load faster, you need to achieve the minimum number of programs and services that start at boot time. Something can be removed from the usual menu Start-> Programs-> StartUp : remove all unnecessary , for example, Winamp Agent, fast load Ms Office, and the like, which is not necessary in 99.99% of cases.

Next, you need to get into the registry. Before this procedure it is always better to make backup files of the registry: system.dat, user.dat (in the windows directory ). To edit the registry, we call regedit ( Start-> Run write regedit and Ok ). Next, in the registry tree, select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Run - and clean out the extra keys from this section. In the same way we look next in the sections RunOnce, RunOnceEx, RunServices, RunServicesOnce . You can delete everything from these sections ... but then you will have nothing or almost nothing at boot. Therefore, you do not need to touch the keys: internat, SystemTray, LoadPowerProfile, TaskMonitor. If you use drivers or tweakers of the interface, then do not touch the corresponding keys in the Run and RunServices sections.

If you are scrawled in the registry in scrap or scary, that is, the program msconfig , which is also launched from Start-> Run, we write msconfig and Ok . Further in it we already look at the need for bookmarks (basically StartUp) and we remove the tick that is not necessary.

Unused files.

After installing WinMe, or after a long work, there may be various (remaining) temporary files. Usually such files have extensions: * .bak, * .tmp, * .old and other similar. Also these files can be located in the directories c: \ temp, c: \ tmp, c: \ windows \ temp , etc. Therefore, I recommend that you delete all such files and clear such directories of garbage. Files by the mask can be searched by normal search ( Start-> Find-> Files or Folders ), and then finding them, from there and delete. Then do not forget to clear the Recicle Bin .

System boot settings.

Despite the fact that MSDOS is faster in WinMe, however, the files responsible for the initial boot remained almost the same: CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, MSDOS.SYS . To download WinMe faster, you will need to edit these files. In Windows Explorer, by default, you will not see these files (they are in the root of the system disk), because In Windows Explorer, system files are hidden. To see them go to Tools-> Folder Options-> View and select Show all files . But it's best to watch and edit the files in FAR 's. Before changing files, do not forget to make copies of them.

Internet Explorer (like any browser) saves files downloaded from the Internet on the disk - in a temporary cache, so that when you try again, you can not download it again, but take it from the cache. The history of access to various resources is also preserved. After a while, the cache and browser history start to noticeably "interfere" with the system to work quickly, because They contain thousands of small files that severely fragment the disk. Therefore, before optimizing the disk, you need to clear the cache and browser history. In IE, go to Tools, Internet Options and Clear History . Then go back to Tools, Internet Options, Delete Files, click Delete all offline content and Ok .

As you know, the majority of operating systems (including Windows) use a special swap file (or partition) for data allocation when there is a lack of RAM - virtual memory (VM) is obtained. Windows uses a swap file, the size of which is usually managed by Windows itself. What she does not do very well, because With a long operation, the swap file spreads over different areas of the disk, and as a result it works very slowly. In addition, the size of the swap file and its use depends heavily on the size of the RAM. With 256 MB of RAM and more, the swap file does not bother much (on most ordinary games and tasks). Completely disable the VM is not worth it, even with large RAM. You can configure VM by selecting My Computer-> Properties-> Performance-Virtual Memory . If you have 64-128 MB of RAM, you can configure the virtual memory as follows: minimum - RAM size, maximum - 2-2.5 times RAM. This is quite enough for all games and most tasks. If you simultaneously work with 3D Max, Photoshop, Word, Excel and at the same time look the Internet ... then the maximum swap size is better to make for 300 MB ... somewhere closer to 0.5 GB .

File system.

In the Performance settings, there are still settings relating to the operation of the file system of your PC. Usually, it's best to leave everything as it is - by default: Typical role of this computer: Desktop computer, Read-ahead optimization: Full . Although it has been noted by many that when the Typical role of this computer: Network Server is installed, application downloading becomes faster. And it's not surprising, with this setting WinMe gives more RAM under the cache for writing / reading from the hard drive. But with less than 128 MB of RAM, setting the Network Server option is meaningless, Total win in speed will not be, because More will be used slow virtual memory.

Disabling the System Restore.

As it was already noticed, WinMe has a built-in system for "smart" saving / restoring the whole system - System Restore . Up to the recovery of deleted files (a la Norton protected Recicle Bin). But System Restore slows down the system. Even the operations of copying, deleting, moving files work through this system - as a result of the landed disk operations in time. But it is safer, you will say - and you will be right. But! For trained users (which you are all, once you have read these words), this nasovism is not needed at all. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to disable System Restore. To do this, go to Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> System -> Performance -> File System -> Troubleshooting and in this window click Disable System Restore and Ok .

Disable various stuff.

With the usual installation of WinMe (and previous Win98) in the running tasks panel, Scheduled Tasks necessarily hangs, which we do not need - we disconnect immediately! To do this, double-click it and select it in the opened window in the Advanced -> Stop Using Task Sheduler menu .

It is also recommended to disable Automatic Updates . To do this, Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Automatic Updates and select "turn off automatic updating" .

It is recommended to disable View my Active Desktop as web page (this is in Display Properties -> Web ). And also disable the use of wallpaper, tk. This consumes a lot of memory (at a resolution of 1024 * 768 * 32 bits the size of the wallpaper is more than 2.5 MB - all in RAM).

Disk check and defragmentation.

After carrying out all the above actions, as well as possible reboots, you can start checking the disk and defragmenting the data. Data actions are needed for faster disk operation. Defragment the program Disk Defragment , before going through Scandisk 'th (to check the structure of the data placement). Standard Disk Defragment works for a long time, but using Speedisk (from Norton Utilities ) is not yet recommended for WinMe. While Symantec will not release an update or a special version for WinMe. Defragmentation should preferably be done periodically, at least every two weeks.

Unlocking the real DOS mode.

Despite the fact that there is no real DOS mode in WinMe, nevertheless there were smart people who found this mode and wrote the DOS mode unlocking program - Real DOS-Mode Patch for Windows ME v1.3 (9 Kb). This small program modifies IO.SYS, COMMAND.COM, REGENV32.EXE. Dispatching your WinMe to it, you will be able to load Shift-F8 and boot into a clean DOS when loading.

And do not forget to sometimes look at the Microsoft website and update Windows.